The Amazon

Posted on October 17, 2013 by kierstenmurnane

This year for the Chilean holiday of Dieciocho we decided to head to Peru. Kids get a week off from school and it is still the dry season in the Rainforest. As we try and hit all of the highlights in South America, the Rainforest was sure to be on the top of the list.

We flew to Lima from Santiago (3.5 hour flight) and stayed the night in Lima. I had been so excited to visit Lima. It is one of the foodie hotspots on the globe at the moment. So much exciting cusine happening and we are fortunate to have friends who just moved to Lima. Our plan was to go out to a great restaurant and let the kids hang out at home with their nana.

As we landed in Lima, we saw the blue sky vanish when we got low enough to the ground only to be surrounded by a brown haze. Once on the ground, the chaos of rush hour in Lima was nerve-racking. There were moments when we were hurling down the road with no regard for any traffic laws, lines or other drivers followed quickly by abrupt stops and creeping at a snails pace through incredible congestion. Because of the traffic, it took us more than an hour to reach our hotel.

Beautiful is not the first word I would use to describe this city. But, our dinner at Pescados Capitales was phenomenal. Talking to our friends, the food scene in Lima really is all that people say it is and more. It was just sad to have only one night.

The next morning we headed out to Puerto Moldanado. The flight would land in Cusco but continue on to the small town in the heart of the Amazon River Basin.

Our captan on the flight admitted that the rain was so bad he would only be able to make one attempt at landing and we would likely have to return to Cusco. By the grace of god his one attempt worked and we landed into a total downpour of rain. We got on a bus and headed to the Rainforest Expeditions main office in town. Since we would be traveling down the river in boats which resembled large canoes with roofs you could only bring a few small bags. We had to unload our other gear at the office and pick it up after we returned. We got out our rain gear, flashlights, etc. and got back on the bus to head to the river bank.

The rain was coming down in buckets. We were completely ill-prepared. We had on tennis shoes and jeans. Big mistake. There was a relatively high bank of the river that we had to traverse to get down to the boats and the river bank was complete mud with no steps of any kind. While the rain made getting to the boats nearly impossible without sliding down, there did not seem to be a back up plan. One by one we tried to make it carefully down the bank and one by one, we slid in the mud and pouring rain to the bottom. Now, absolutely covered in mud, wet and cold, we got to take the 4.5 hour boat ride to the lodge. According to our guide, they typically cut the trip time down by taking the first part of the journey by road, but the road had washed out so we would do all 4 hours by boat – the last hour in total darkness because we had landed late and night was drawing near.

It was absolutely the longest 4.5 hours. The kids were losing it entirely. There was really nothing to do but sit and think and Madie had seen a giant wall-sized poster in the airport warning visitors of Dange Fever so she just worried the whole way about the family coming down with this crazy jungle disease. I was also full of dread given that the last hour we relied on one of the guides holding up a strong flashlight off the front of the boat trying to point out any big rockes, river banks and turns of the river. The river is incredibly shallow at many parts so I just imagined us getting stuck knowing that pirranah were an abundant species in this part of the world.

We finally made it safely to the lodge. We had to take our our flashlights and hike about half of a mile through complete darkness to reach the main lodge. The sounds in the jungle are almost overwhelming. It seems as loud as New York City but with each sound being some animal marking its territory, calling its friends or courting a significant other.

There is no electricity. They have some electricity in the main lodge for a few hours each evening but none in the rooms. They have candles and gas lamps for the main part of the evening. Rooms are completely open – each bed has a mosquito net they put down in the evenings but you are totally open to the jungle. We were completely off the grid.

Rainforest Expeditions is the company we worked with to plan our trip They run three lodges in the Amazon Basin. We were staying in Refugio Amazonas the lodge which is the more family-oriented option and mid-range distance from the main town of Puerto Moldonado. They have a lodge much closer to town and another four hours from our lodge (so more than 8 hours up the river) and noted as one of the most remote lodges in South America.

The Refugio Amazonas lodge was very basic – a main area where we ate all of our meals at group tables, they hosted lectures each night and had a fun simple bar where people gathered for cocktails and drinks. This was also the place they turned power on for a few hours each day in order to charge cameras, etc.

Our guide Carlos was amazing and he led just our family the whole trip. He spoke English and Spanish but we tried to stick to spanish. Our first morning our plan was to climb up the canopy, a platform that was at the top of a giant staircase that took you above the tree canopy. From the top, Carlos used his iphone to make bird and monkey calls. We could see toucans, macaws, parrots. Really amazing.

We then hiked a few miles to the Oxbow lake and on the way came across so many amazing things. What at first appeared to be a thin feather boa on the ground turned out to be a group of caterpillars. The caterpillars produced a pheremone that attracted others and they all travled together in this long line one right after another.

We found a family of Tamarin Monkeys who came to see what we were up to.

Carlos showed us a tarantula nest on the side of a tree. He took a small branch to touch the outside to see if the spider was home but it was not.

We learned about a few of the more than 20,000 plant species that occur in the rainforests of southeastern Peru. Many are used by locals for medicinal purposes, art, cermonies or food. We found these great leaves that when crushed gave off a great red coloring used by many for decorative things.

We saw many termite mounds including those built on tree trunks. Carlos explained that locals like to eat termites so John, Madie and Jack were brave enough to try them.

So many interesting animals. Nowhere else on the planet exists a forest that has more than 600 species of birds, well over 100 species of mammals and more than 100 species of reptiles and amphibians.

When we reached the Oxbow lake we boarded a small kayak to explore. This Oxbow lake formed when a bend in the river got cut off from its main channel. The lake is very quiet and tranquil creating a habitat for marsh grasses and many interesting animals that live in these backwater lagoons.

First off was the Hoatzin, a bird that is a cross between a pheasant and a feathered dinosaur, they live right around the edge of the water and make odd grunting noises. The locals call it a “Stink bird” because of the bad odor it gives off.

We were on the lookout for Black Caimans and giant Anacondas. Thankfully we didn’t come across either that day.

We did find a family of bats that were sleeping on the underside of a tree log.

We also saw amazing dragonflies.

As we parked out boat on the other side of the river we ventured out to see one of the largest trees in the rainforest – the Kapok.

Finally as we got back to the other side of the river we came across a group of leafcutter ants. We watched as this incredibly long procession of ants, each carrying a small cut of leaf, walked diligently quite a distance to their nest. We learned that they don’t use the leaves for food but instead, they chew up the leaves, spit them out and eat the fungus that grows. Almost every insect or animal had an fascinating story.

Since most of the activities would begin very early in the morning, we would arrive back at the main lodge an hour or two before lunch and have the chance to relax.

After lunch we took a boat across the Tambopata River to explore a working local farm which grows a huge variety of fruits and vegetables. On the way to the farm we came across what appeared to be a butterfly clay lick. There are more than 1000 species of butterflies in the rainforest of Tambopata.

The owner of the farm showed us all the crops he manages including so many things we had never heard of. We also saw monkeys and heard macaws fly overhead.

Each night we would gather in the main lodge and eat dinner with our guide. This was not your typical hotel buffet. The food was very simple peruvian food as if you were a guest in someone’s home. Since I don’t eat meat, I had a very strange version of tofu patty dressed in a different sauce each night. Kids didn’t see anything they recognized at any meal.

The second day we woke up early and headed to the macaw clay lick. We took a short boat ride followed by an hour-long hike through the rainforest to a clay lick for macaws.

A few miles up stream we saw what looked like a White Heron but looking closely he had this vibrant blue head and baby blue beak. He is the Capped Heron.

When we got to the area of the river bank where we would start our hour-long hike through the jungle, we were greeted by a Capibara which is the world’s largest rodent weighing as much as 100 pounds.

After just a few minutes of walking our guide spotted a red howler monkey sleeping in a tree. We watched him for a while until he moved on in the tree canopy.

Just a few steps later our guide spotted a Tarantula nest. The guide had us gather around this large hole that looked like a giant burrow bigger than a rabbit. It was home to the second largest spider in the world – Araña Pollito – or chicken spider. As we all stood around this giant burrow, we were told to be very still and completely quiet since the spider can sense vibrations. Our guide took a tree branch and slowly moved it into the hole. As he pulled it back out, this giant spider the size of a dinner plate followed. Knowing we had to remain perfectly quiet, I put my hand over Madie’s mouth because I knew she was going to scream. As I looked over I saw tears coming down her cheeks. It was the most insane animal I have ever seen in the wild by far. I’m just sorry our photos don’t provide any perspective on how big he actually was.

Here was a red-necked woodpecker.

When we finally made it to the Macaw clay lick we were asked to stay behind a covered grass hut that had small holes poked out where you could view the clay lick. We were so fortunate because our guide says it is very difficult to know if the Macaws will visit one day or not. We saw more that we could count. It was amazing. We sat and watched them for an hour and then slowly they started to fly away in pairs (Macaws mate for life) or small groups until all the birds had left the Clay Lick. I found this great video someone produced about the Macaws in the Tambopata National Reserve.

As we made our way back to the boat we came across many smaller creatures including this crying beetle, which gets its name because it makes a high-pitched whiny cry when it is disturbed.

On our last afternoon we decided to do a canopy climb. We were thinking it would be a zipline experience through the tree canopy. We discovered when we went to the training that we would have to lift ourselves 30 meters up to reach a high platform above the tree canopy. We thought Madie could probably do it but we were not at all sure about the rest of us.

It was incredibly tough but all of us reached the top just in time to see the sun set over the Tambopata River. John and the kids also saw a toucan land on the adjacent tree. Super cool. I would recommend being very clear on what you are signing up for. Zipline is a bit different than physically pulling yourself up 30 meters.

We ended the day with a trip to spot Caymans in the pitch darkness of night in a canoe. We saw a White Caiman and Spectacled Caiman on the river banks that quickly found the water as we approached. Our photos don’t do it justice. It was amazing being on the water at night.

We also took a night hike to discover the nocturnal animals. We saw two snakes: a Whip Snake and a Blunt-headed tree snake, the Amazon Pigmy Owl, White-throated Ant Bird, Tailless Scorpian, Sheep Frog, Cane Toad and glow worms. And, after the kids went to bed, John and I headed to the main lodge to have a beer and the generator went out so we sat in the dark with candles while the bats flew around us. It is not for the faint of heart.

I have to say this was one of the most incredible adventures we have had. Rainforest Expeditions was amazing. It was incredible to be totally off the grid for 4 days exploring such a remote part of the world.

Road Trip to Mendoza!

Posted on February 4, 2013 by kierstenmurnane

This past weekend we made our very first road trip for a long weekend. We had heard that Mendoza in Argentina was less than a 6 hour drive through the mountains from Santiago. Imagine that, one of the most celebrated wine regions in the world was just a short drive away. Combine that with the fact that the Sudamericano Sub20 Futbol Tournament, the tournament that will decide who plays in the Sub20 World Cup was being played in Mendoza (and Chile was playing incredibly well) and it became a perfect getaway for the Murnane family.

We were planning to leave early Friday morning until we learned that due to some construction on the roads, the route only goes one way at the moment – departing from Chile to Argentina was only possible from 8 p.m. until 7 a.m. So we changed our plans to leave Thursday evening. The drive to the boarder crossing was about 3 hours from Santiago, so as we left our house at 6 p.m. we figured we would time things perfectly, just after the initial rush cleared.

As we got close to the boarder we were now smack in the middle of the Andes. Not a lot around us except for mountains. We came upon a line of cars stopped. It was still nearly 20 kilometers from the boarder which made us think the opening was delayed. We waited for about 30 minutes when the cars started to move again. We only drove for a short time to stop again, still far from the boarder. Now it was nearing 10 p.m. so the sun was setting and the mountains were getting cold. Imagine, we were in the middle of the Andes with nothing anywhere – no McDonalds, gas stations or anything but sharp cliffs.

We began moving again, creeping slowly. Before you cross the boarder, you literally climb up the mountain, zig zagging back and forth, with nearly 23 turns to reach the top. This is the area under construction so traffic was moving very slowly. Just after we made it to the top of the mountain, now nearly midnight, we stopped. We were not sure why, but freezing cold and dark everywhere we were now worried about how long this would actually take.

We finally slowly began to move, rounding a corner after more than an hour, creeping an inch at a time, to see that we were filing into the line for Customs. Only moving a few feet every 20 minutes, John and my mom got out of the car and walked forward to check it out. Now nearly 1 a.m. they counted we were 68 cars back from the checkpoint. John decided to get some sleep and I inched the car forward moving two feet once every 15 minutes. We did this from 1 a.m. until 4 a.m. when we finally reached the customs checkpoint. It was agony.

Not a surprise, the Murnanes didn’t have their paperwork in order. We can’t find the proof that we paid the reciprocity fee to enter Argentina ($160 per person) even with the stamps on our passport from our previous trip to Argentina. We also realized we had only the previous owners paperwork for our car – nothing showing that we actually owned the car. Thankfully I had my computer so after much searching I found the documentation that we had paid the reciprocity fee. The guards stamped our paper and we headed out happy to have avoided any questions about the car. it was now nearing 5 a.m. and we still had a three hour drive ahead in Argentina.

After finally driving at a normal speed for about 30 minutes we came to a check point on the highway where one guard was stopping all cars. He indicated that he needed our form from customs with three stamps – which we apparently didn’t have. After much conversation in broken spanish, it was clear he was not going to just let us go. He insisted, without hesitation, that we needed to turn around and go back to customs.

By that time, our spirits were broken, we were beyond any rational thought, but the idea of turning around and going back to the place we had just spent nearly 6 hours seemed like a cruel joke. But what choice did we have? We turned around and headed back to get our three official stamps. The process took almost 45 minutes – and thankfully for the grace of one customs worker who saw our car paperwork and deduced that we had likely not just stolen our car but that we were simply clueless Americans – we headed out for the second time at almost 6 a.m.

With John driving, I slept for an hour while we made our way toward Mendoza. As we neared the city, we hit a bit of rush hour traffic which seemed hardly possible given we had left Santiago at 6 p.m. the prior evening. As we finally acknowledged that we reached the city of Mendoza we clocked it as a 14 hour journey. If someone had suggested the four of us get in a car and drive straight through the night with no sleep through the Andes mountain range on a trip that would take 14 hours I would have laughed. It hardly seemed possible that we made it.

We found our hotel, the Park Hyatt , which sits right on the main square in the heart of Mendoza. We made the determination that we would not sleep but push on to taste some wine. We had only 3 days in Mendoza and we needed to make that long trip worth the time (If at all possible).

We hired a car to take us to two wineries: the first was Casa Del Visitante where we got a tour and taste of Family Zuccardi wines. We had a wonderful classic Argentinian barbecue at their restaurant which was spectacular and included delicious Argentina empanadas. We then headed to a boutique winery Carinae where we toured the very small winery and did a wonderful tasting of many wines. Jack was a trooper the whole time (Madie was at her sleep-away summer camp so she didn’t make the trip).

Our wine tasting at the intimate Carinae Winery.

We were proud of ourselves for pushing through and not wasting one of our three days in Mendoza to sleep. We were especially proud of my mom, who managed to sleep a total of 15 minutes in the car and still hung with us the whole day. My mom and Jack headed back to the room for an early night and John and I ventured down the street from our hotel to The Vines of Mendoza which is a wonderful wine bar/tasting room that features any and all wines available in Mendoza.

The next day, John and I got to do a tour with Trout & Wine a fantastic tour company. They picked us up from our hotel and we visited four wineries with a very small group. The wineries we went to were some of the best in Mendoza, Vina Cobos started the day with great Malbecs and a really wonderful Felino Chardonnay. It was really interesting to taste the different wines that were the same grape but just grown in different locations of the vinyards in Mendoza.

Achaval Ferrer was my absolute favorite wine and winery. The backdrop was fantastic as we did our tasting outside. We then got to go down into the cellar and actually taste from the barrel – something I had never done before. The wines were spectacular, if indeed out of our price range. We learned that they actually trim down the grape clusters just before Harvest (which is in late Feb/early March) in order to concentrate everything into the best grapes. Amazing to see they just leave what appear to be perfectly good grapes on the ground to fertilize the others.

Next, we visited a very old winery that is now a restaurant and small hotel, Club Tapiz. We had a chance to tour the old winery where we saw the old barrels, a beautiful mural and some old dresses made to represent the history of wine harvests in Mendoza. We had lunch in the second story of a beautiful old building and each course was accompanied by the wines. Our group consisted of a couple from Ottawa, Canada, a gentleman from England and a young woman from the Netherlands – a super interesting group to spend the day with.

We ended our day at Alta Vista which offered a interesting blend of old and new wine traditions. They have a highly rated Torrontes which is a grape only grown in the north of Argentina in Salta. But in Mendoza, Malbecs rule and Alta Vista is most known for their Alta Vista Alto wine which was indeed delicious.

Our last day in Mendoza we spent the morning visiting one last winery Belasco De Baquedano which we thought would be fun because they have an aroma room where you can test your senses to identify different wine characteristics. The winery itself has beautiful views and great wine.

After the winery visit we got ready to go to the Chile vs. Urguay Sudamericano Sub20 tournament. Chile had been playing really well and given that the national men’s team has not been playing well, everyone was getting excited by the this younger group suggesting some potential for the future of Chilean Futbol. The Uruguay team was also staying at the Hyatt Regency Mendoza and the hotel was kind enough to give us some spectacular tickets. We couldn’t decide if the strong police presence at the stadium made us feel safer or suggested we should worry, but everything was perfectly fine.

Unfortunately, Chile lost the match 1-0 Uruguay. Jack was very disappointed, expecially when we returned to the hotel to see the Uruguay team bus pull up at the same time filled with celebrating under-20 year-old boys. But we had one last fantastic meal in Mendoza at a small restaurant named Azafrán Restaurant which was terrific. The small restaurant has their own wine cellar rather than a wine list so you actually go with the sommelier to pick out your wine.

You can only imagine how nervous we were to start our long drive home. We all secretly assumed that the drive could never be as bad as the trip to Mendoza but we were all too scared to say anything out loud just on the off chance we might jinx it. We also took solace in the fact that we could see the beautiful mountains since we would be traveling during the day. Everyone had told us part of the reason to make the drive was the view driving through the Andes.

We headed out after breakast and thankfully had an uneventful time back. Customs heading into Chile took 10 minutes and even the few stops we had to make at the construction once in Chile only lasted a short time. We made it home in 7 hours – half the time it took us to get to Mendoza.

It was a tremendous trip. Would we do it again even with the tough journey….No. I will never again drive into Argentina. But, I will make sure to go back to Mendoza. Just take a plane next time.

La Boca!

Posted on February 1, 2013 by jackmurnane

On our summer vacation, we went to Argentina. While we were in Argentina we heard about the Boca Juniors playing River Plate. It was a soccer game.

CABJ stands for Club Atlético Boca Juniors. It is a soccer team in Buenos Aires that plays in a neighborhood called La Boca. It is one of the best teams in the world. They have won the Argentina championships 25 times and have won 18 titles outside of Argentina (tied for most with A.C. Milan).

Boca Juniors has a big rivalry with River Plate. Our tour guide in Buenos Aires told us a great story about how the rivalry started. It started when Boca Juniors and River Plate both wanted the stadium in La Boca. So they decided to play a game … and said that the winner gets to stay and the loser has to go. Boca Juniors beat River Plate (she said 3-0) and River Plate moved to the North of Buenos Aires and built their own stadium.

Boca Juniors couldn’t decide what their colors should be. They were fighting and fighting. I want red. I want blue. Finally, they said the first boat that comes, the colors on the boats flag will become our colors. The next morning, a boat came in and the colors were blue and yellow because the boat was from Sweden. So their colors are now yellow and blue like you see in my shirt.

This is a photo of Boca Juniors fans watching a game. I think this is how they celebrate when they score a goal.

Here is a picture I took of their stadium in La Boca.

Vacationing in the Rainforest

Posted on January 19, 2013 by madiemurnane

As odd as it sounds, we are in summer vacation now. Our summer vacation goes from December to February. We took a family trip to Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Buenos Aires.

Jack said that he thought Iguazu would have a lot of animals because the name, “Igua- zoo.” Jack and I think that is funny.

We left early in the morning on New Years Day to go to the airport (I had wanted to stay up until midnight on New Years Eve, but if you are going to wake up at 5:00 am that is not such a good idea). We had to make a connection in Buenos Aires. On the flight there, Mom was taking a nap and I was reading a book when an announcement came – first in Spanish – which I didn’t understand a single word of – and then in English, “Ladies and Gentleman, we will now be spraying the cabin with an insecticide. Please remain calm, this will not effect your health.” I whimpered. I could tell mom had just barely woken up. Then the flight attendant came through the aisle with a big can spraying as she walked.

Once we landed in Iguazu, mom said, “this airport might compete with Calama.” It was just as tiny as the little airport we landed in at the Atacama Desert. We got a cab to take us to our hotel which was the only hotel inside the National Park. We saw a sign that said something like, “animal crossing” and had a picture of some strange animal we had never seen or heard of before. We were truly in the rainforest.

While we were checking in to our hotel, The Sheraton Iguazu, through the windows we could see a beautiful big waterfall. But it wasn’t just one waterfall, there were like five or six separate waterfalls, some were huge and some were fairly small. The waterfalls are basically a connection between three countries: Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. The Iguazu River separates the two countries, Brazil and Argentina. Apparently, when Eleanor Roosevelt saw the falls, she exclaimed, “Poor Niagara” because it was so breathtakingly beautiful. It is one of the seven natural wonders of South America.

As we were checking in to the hotel, we saw another sign which said, “do not feed the monkeys” in big white print. I thought to myself, “I hope we see some monkeys.” We went up to our room and mom said excitedly, “Madie, Jack, come here.” We went out to the balcony where she was standing and saw that there were monkeys climbing all over the roofs and balconies of the hotel. One pooped on our porch.

The next day we began walking through the park. We saw the little animals from the sign, they are called Coatis, and a Toucan.

Isn’t he cute!

One of the most recommended things was a boat ride to the waterfalls. We decided it would be the first thing we would do. So we got on a truck that took us through the jungle and down to the river.

Our guide on the Jeep.

We have arrived at the river.

When we got to the river, we saw lots of butterflies. They seemed to really like it near the water. There were tons of them where we were getting our life jackets on. It was like one of those butterfly pavilions you see at the museum or the zoo but it was their natural habitat. One of the butterflies landed on our field guide trying to find himself.

We had pictured getting on a boat, going near the waterfalls, and getting a little damp from the mist. We actually ended up getting absolutely soaked. The rocks that the waterfalls were hitting sent a lot more than just mist our way. I felt like a little ant in a thunderstorm.

Soaked!

Just a LITTLE wet from our boat trip to the falls.

While walking back to our hotel, we got to explore the different waterfalls and parts of the jungle. The size of the park is nearly 68,000 hectares. That’s really big. As big as six Disney Worlds including all the parks, water parks, hotels, golf courses and everything. And that is only the Argentina side, the Brazil Parque Nacional do Iguacu is another 185,000 hectares, or 20 Disney Worlds.

At the waterfall chico, we saw this little guy. He is a Golden Tegu Lizard. The ground in one part of the area was crawling with ants. The lizard apparently really liked to eat ants. He would go into the ant nest, eat a couple, they would climb on him and begin to bite him, he would fling the dirt in the air causing more ants to climb on him and bite him, rub his body on the leaves and bark as he squirmed away from the ant nest, and then he would go back in for more! He did this many times until he got bored of getting bitten by the ants.

Next, we saw a tree swaying back and forth. We quickly realized that it had a monkey on top of it. Dad joked that there were probably five or six coming up behind us because you can’t really find monkeys alone. Sure enough, we continued walking down the path and we came upon five or six monkeys. One of which had a baby on his back.

The next day we went to the Brazil side of Iguazu park, Foz de Iguazu. Mom and dad got to do a ropes course. It looked really fun but Jack and I were too short to do it. We did get to do a few things in the beginning and the zip line at the end.

Mom and Dad on the ropes course.

We also got to do this activity where you climbed up a big pole and jumped off the top (you were connected to something of course). Dad thinks it was 50 feet tall. Imagine climbing up to a four story building that was as round as a log that shook when you stood on it. You were supposed to try and grab the bar but Jack and I were way too short. It was fun anyway.

Also recommended for the Brazil side of the park was the bird Sanctuary. It was really interesting. It had a bunch of different types of birds reptiles and butterflies. In one of the enclosures that you could walk through there was a toucan sitting on a railing. Next to it was me looking at it, behind me was a girl who looked about my age, and behind her was a little boy. The toucan immediately began to hop in our direction. I quickly moved out of the way, as did the girl but the little boy wasn’t paying attention. The big old toucan pecked him on the forehead. He cried but he was ok. I’m glad it wasn’t me.

My friend the toucan.

The last day we spent in Iguazu we did the canopy trail. About half way through, after seeing birds and a little lizard, we saw the black vultures. We had seen them before circling the falls to find the fish and birds and other creatures that had gone over the falls, but never as close as we saw them that day.

The Plush Crested Jay

We took a canoe down the Iguazu River. The ride started up near the Devils Throat. One of the things dad said he really wanted to see before we left was a toucan flying. The rest of us had already seen one. On the canoe ride we saw a toucan and just before we floated away, the toucan flew. Dad was glad that he got to see it.

There was a little butterfly that kept following us around. I think he liked us.

I am helping the butterfly crawl on Jack’s finger

I think this was my favorite trip ever. It was really different from other trips and it had lots of animals that I had fun learning about. We had a field guide and checked off all the animals as we saw them. By the end, most of the animals in the book had been checked off. It felt good to know we saw almost the whole jungle.

The Atacama Desert

Posted on November 23, 2012 by madiemurnane

Family at Salt Flats

Instead of Trick-or-Treating this Halloween we took a family vacation to the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile. It is said to be the driest place in the world. Our hotel, Explora Atacama, offered many different hikes, horseback rides, bike rides, etc.

When we arrived at the Calama domestic airport, instead of going out through the jetway, the opened the stairs off the plane. We had truly just landed in the middle of the desert. The Santiago airport is rather impressive compared to the one in Calama. I can’t imagine having the job to advertise for the Calama airport, “Welcome to the Calama not-so-international-airport, where you can fly to places like Santiago, Santiago, and Santiago.” Really. I looked at the departure board and there were no flights to anywhere but Santiago.

We got in a van with a Brazilian couple speaking Portugese and drove to our hotel which took about an hour. My dad tried to do a call on the trip to the hotel and got disconnected twelve times in seven minutes. There was obviously no cell reception in the desert. Looking out the window, my mom said, “those mountains look like a bunch of volcanoes.” We later found out that those mountains were a chain of volcanoes, and a few of them were active.(yikes!)

Once we got to the hotel, we departed on our first excursion. The van took us to a small town. We noticed that the roofs were only sticks and dried grass. I guess it is because they don’t get any rain there so they don’t need a roof to keep the rain out. Our guide said he wanted to show us some llamas. He led us to a small door in the wall. We opened the door and there were a few people standing with three llamas. The baby one liked me.:)

Llamas in the small town on the way to the Salt Flats

Rocks? Sand? Nope! Actually, these rock-ish things are clumps of salt.

We got back in the van and the guide took us to the Salt Flats. At first I thought it was a bunch of rocks. I asked the guide why they were so weirdly shaped. He explained that because the salt flats were so old the salt had formed itself in big shapes. The salt flats, the largest in Chile, are home to the Las Flamencos National Reserve and hundreds of Flamingos.

The Gray Flamingo (a la izquierda) is a Baby.(if you don’t know what “a la izquierda” means, look it up.)

Our Guide Showing us the Salt Formations

The Sunset’s reflection on the mountains Was Beautiful

The next morning we set off on our second excursion to the Valle de Muerte. Our guide said they called it the Valley of Death by accident. The Frenchman who named it had meant to call it “Mars” after the planet but his accent on the Spanish was misunderstood and therefore “Muerte.” This was my favorite excursion. First we hiked up for about an hour. My mom kept telling us to stay to the right of her because on the left was a giant cliff.

We got up to the top and the guide informed us that we were going to go down. I wasn’t sure if he meant we were going to walk down the sand dune or if he meant that we had to hike all the way back. Then he took off running down the sand dune.

Ready…..Set………

Go!

Our guide and me.

Running in the sand dunes was hard because of the elevation. Atacama is at 7500 feet high which is even higher than Lake Tahoe where my grandparents live.

Start of the Hike

In the afternoon, we did the Cactus hike. It was a very different hike from any of the other hikes. There were multiple times where we had to cross the river. We also climbed over many rocks.

We found a lizard! I like Lizards!

He is Blurry Here, But Isn’t He Cute!

We walked into a canyon and followed the river for about two hours.

Then we began to climb up out of the canyon. Jack got ahead of most of the group on this hike. He did really well.

Hiking Out of the Canyon

Jack and our guide leading the pack on the hike

The next day was the official “Madie day” of the trip even though it was my dad’s birthday. In the morning we went horseback riding.

Getting Fit for my Helmet

Mom and Jack had gone back to the stables because Jack could barely breathe (he is allergic to horses). After a while of walking our guide explained to Dad and I how we could get our horses to trot. All we had to do is bounce up and down on our horses, giving it a little bit of a beat to trot to. It was really fun.

The next excursion we did was a mountain bike ride to a salty lake similar to the Dead Sea. We could float in the water when we got there. When we were deciding which excursion to do, and they suggested this one, we actually said that Jack wasn’t the strongest bike rider but they said he’d have no problem with it. When we were getting ready to start biking the guide admitted that he didn’t have a bike small enough to fit Jack. Jack ended up having to ride in the van. When we began to ride, mom asked the guide how many kids did this excursion. “Not very many” he replied. We had a feeling this was not going to be an easy bike ride.

The ride was 18 kilometers. We had no idea it would be that long. It was really, really hard. By the time we got to the salt lake, I was absolutely ready to pass out pooped. But the swimming was fun, even though the salt really burned our sunburns.

The last excursion we did was probably the prettiest. First we walked across a field of salt – very different from our first experience with salt flats.

When we reached the bottom of the canyon, the salt began to look less like salt and more like frosting on a cake or snow. Our guide said we had to be very careful not to damage any of the salt so that the next people who came and did the hike could experience it like we did.

Okay, so sure I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t get to celebrate halloween, but the desert was even better!

Rio!

Posted on November 14, 2012 by kierstenmurnane

One of the great benefits to moving to Santiago was the opportunity to explore a different part of the world. Now that John is part of the “Latam” office he had a conference in Rio de Janeiro that happened to coincide with my birthday. My mom came to stay with the kids and John and I headed to Rio for 4 days.

Rio was amazing. I was expecting a very dirty city with lots of crime but instead found an amazing exotic place. We were fortunate to stay in a fabulous hotel, the Fasano Hotel was located right on Ipanema Beach. The spot was great. Each morning you could take a run along the beach and join the most eclectic array of people and watch as all the vendors set up for a busy day at the beach.

View from the rooftop of our Hotel

While in Rio we got the chance to go to a samba school where they work all year in anticipation of Carnival. We visited the famous Mangueira Samba School. Two of the dancers gave us lessons in the dance and then we got to decorate a headdress and watch a performance. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

John, our instructor and Henry and Liz learning how to Samba

I took a tour of downtown Rio. While the tour was interesting, I’d probably stick to the beach if I came to visit again. Some of the architecture was really stunning and it was fascinating to hear the history of how this city came to be. Unfortunately time has seen many great buildings fade and new “modern” architecture replace the old.

Downtown Rio

We did have some fabulous meals in Rio. One night we had dinner at Roberta Sudbrack. The chef (for whom the restaurant is named) was the former private chef of the Brazilian President. She has been named the best chef in Rio many times and her restaurant is included in the list of the top fifty restaurants in the world. It was one of the best meals I have ever had. The dessert was amazing (and I don’t even like dessert!). With such great meals, my one regret is not being able to find the hole-in-the-wall place with great beans and rice. Next time.

The highlight of the trip without a doubt was a trip to Christ the Redeemer. I was nervous that it might be one of those iconic tourist destinations that can be incredibly disappointing. It was the opposite. One of the amazing things they do is make every visitor (even if you are in a tour group) take a sponsored bus to the top where the statue is located. This prevents all the cheap souvenir salesman from overwhelming the place. Instead, it is this stoic, peaceful place at the top of the largest urban rainforest in the world. It was truly spectacular.

Under the statue is this area to walk out with 180 degree views of Rio.

Before we left Rio, we spent the morning on the beach. There is an entire industry surrounding the beach in Rio. Vendors of all kinds, bathing suits, food, suntan oil, etc create this background noise and a constant hum to the experience.

Oh, and it is not a stereotype that Brazilian beaches are filled with scantally-clad people. If you were 99 or 19 you were wearing a string bikini and most suits didn’t appropriately over all the right spots. Even the men revealed as much as possible. It made me smile when I think of how older women in the states move on to a swim suit with a skirt 🙂 Brazilians must look at Americans and think we have serious issues.

I am anxious to go back to Rio. It is really a magical place. That said, in talking with people, they have done a ton very recently to clean up the city and decrease crime. The very poor areas of Rio, the favelas, can been seen from anywhere. According to Wikipedia, nearly 12 million people live in favelas in Brazil. With Brazil hosting the 2012 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, more work is being done by the government to improve these areas. I’m sure you could hear different perspectives on how successful the efforts have been, but the majority of residents told me things have improved dramatically. I found a very interesting article about this in National Geographic Magazine. A complicated issue for sure.

Murnanes in Santiago

Our Adventures in South America

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